There is a long felt need for an effective way to transfer liquids from containers. FIG. 1 illustrates side view of a prior art pouring spout system 100. The system comprises a pouring spout 110 fitted into the top of a paint can 102. An example of this system is the Allway® “Spout and Can Cover”. The pouring spout comprises a lower tapered circular skirt 112 and an upper rim 114. One end of the rim comprises a wide lip 116. The circular tapered skirt is wedged into the internal gutter 104 of the paint can to form a seal. The skirt may be made of plastic. If the paint can is tipped at an angle 124, the paint 106 within the can flows onto the rim, overflows the lip and descends as a stream 132.
This system is effective for transferring runny fluids from a can to another container. The system is not effective, however, if one wishes to transfer a more viscous fluid, such as caulking, from a container to a surface below as a continuous steady stream of material. The rate of flow in the descending stream from an Allway system is highly variable. Small changes in the tipping angle cause significant changes 125 in the head 122 of the poured liquid. This causes large changes in flow rate due to the wide open top lip. The variable flow rate 136 causes the deposited bead of the fluid 134 to sometimes be high and wide 128 or low and narrow 126. The wide open top lip also allows the stream to swing from side to side. There is need, therefore, for a system to transfer liquids from a container to a surface below that provides a uniform steady well-directed flow of material.